Implementing a Barcode Solution

Nobody can deny the benefits that a barcode system offers to make inventory control simple and easy for small businesses. Using a barcode is an excellent way to improve your staff’s efficiency. It also helps in monitoring inventory effectively, which contributes to smooth and more efficient business operations.

Pondering on the role of the barcode in today’s society, Honeywell Scanning & Mobility senior technologist H. Sprague Ackley had this to say: â€œForty years ago, I could have never imagined the impact the barcode would have on consumers and businesses all over the world. From providing a speedier check out at the grocery store to scanning prescriptions at a hospital bedside, to using my phone to board an airplane, I continue to be amazed at the power of bar code technology.â€

Alan Haberman, a former First National Stores president who was the head of the subcommittee tasked to review barcode use when it was still being developed recalled barcoding’s benefits, “It turns out there were massive savings that we called hard savings, out-of-pocket savings in labor and other areas. And there were gigantic savings available in the use of information and the ability to deal with it more easily than we had before, but we never quantified that.” Retailers eventually were drawn to these hard savings, which included the ability to check out items twice faster than when traditional equipment was used that resulted in shorter customer lines without the need for adding staff.

Implementation Do’s and Don’ts

While its uses and advantages are plenty and obvious, it’s not an entirely easy task to implement a barcode system in your existing business.Here are some tips to help your business ease the implementation of a barcode system like Shopify for inventory control:

1

Do select a reliable barcode label printer.
Before anything else, one thing you must secure first to implement a barcode system successfully is an excellent printer for your barcode labels. It has to be durable, fast and legible. When you find this kind of barcode printing solution, consider it a worthwhile investment that will benefit you in the long term. Do not be tempted to buy something cheap since you cannot afford to make any compromises with this essential equipment.

2

Do make sure to use good quality material for your barcode labels.
Barcode labels may be inexpensive but they are very important to your whole barcode system. Since they are exposed to the environment, they are at high risk of damage. Also, they may wear out naturally overtime.In the event that your barcode labels get damaged or worn out, you will have to re-label your items. Hence, it is vital that you choose a high quality label material that is resistant to the elements they will be subjected to.

3

Donâ€™t deploy your barcode labels without checking them.
This may seem like an obvious step to the implementation process but many companies actually overlook testing their barcode labels prior to placing them on their products. Checking your labels will take time to complete but will save you headaches down the road. One of the things to check is whether your labels contain the correct information. You also want to ensure the labels are of good quality and will withstand a good period of time. Performing this check will allow you to uncover potential problems and resolve them prior to full deployment.

4

Don’t forget to take a careful look at technical support availability.
A barcode system involves the use of different machines, such as the barcode printer, barcode software and barcode scanner. Most likely, you will be dealing with different vendors for different equipment. Whether or not this is the case, you want to review what kind of technical support would be available to you should you encounter problems with the devices in the future.

5

Do have your barcode system and information system integrated.
If you already have an information system in place, it is very critical that your barcode system is aligned with it. Some point-of-sale systems allow the barcode or product to be added to their system either by manually entering the barcodes through website administration or simply scanning the barcodes to automatically populate them in the database. When your barcode system is in sync with your information system, this will allow the data captured by the scanner from the barcode labels to be received by your database in order to process a sale.

6

Do choose avendor you can count on.
The vendor you select for your barcode needs should be there for you from the start of the implementation and even afterwards as you continue to use their system. It is important that you have personal contact with your chosen vendor. This means whenever you encounter an issue with your system, the vendor is just one call away and will always be ready to assist you.

Hello friends, let me take the privilege or introducing myself to you. I am Nitin Maheta from a small place called Rajkot. My urge to know more and more have leaded me to the growing areas of technology. By profession, I work in a garment s... see more